How to Appreciate the Simple Pleasures of Life

Spring brings to mind simple pleasures. There are the first buds of spring shimmering with iridescent color on the trees, cherry blossoms like masses of cotton candy and colorful blooms showing their faces above the earth. With simple pleasures such as these, it brings to mind the many other pleasures in life we may fail to appreciate.

As we go through life, we sometimes tend to focus on the negatives and on what isn't going well instead of looking at what we have to be grateful for in our lives. For those who see their cup as half empty, the following is a list of things to appreciate that those whose cup is half full see, feel and hear everyday:

- seeing your child or grandchild's smile or hearing their happy giggles;
- receiving a smile from a passing stranger;
- feeling a small hand being placed trustingly in yours;
- having your child or grandchild cuddle beside you while you watch a movie together;
- having coffee with a friend and enjoying a chat together;
- taking a walk through a park and listening to the happy singing of the birds as they flutter from tree to tree;
- listening to the bubbling sounds of a creek;
- watching waves wash up onto the shore;
- listening to the happy sounds of children when you walk past a playground;
- being able to get up out of bed each morning;
- viewing buttercups in a field of grass;
- looking up to see the blue sky and the sun shining brightly;
- being warm, snug inside, when it is cold outside;
- building a snowman with your children or your best friend;
- having a loving arm around your shoulders;
- receiving a phone call from a friend or a loved one that you haven't heard from for a while;
- watching a squirrel gather nuts;
- building a sandcastle with your children;
- smelling the flowers;
- reading a good book;
- having a good hair day;
- listening to a song that brings back special memories;
- hearing a gentle summer breeze rustle the leaves of a tree;
- spending time with your family;
- new fallen snow before footprints mar its surface;
- climbing into bed when you've just put on fresh, clean sheets;
- sleeping in on a Sunday morning;
- taking a long, relaxing bubble bath;
- walking on the beach, even alone, and enjoying the tranquility of feeling you get from the sounds of the ocean;
- going on a picnic with someone you love;
- lying on the grass and watching the stars, like sparkling jewels, scattered on a velvet sky;
- walking on the beach, holding hands, with someone special.

All of these simple pleasures are free, or relatively so. They can be available to everyone. We only have to be aware of what surrounds us to see, feel or hear most of them.